COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD REVIEWS REPORT OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC

CRC
32nd session
24 January 2003




The Committee on the Rights of the Child reviewed today a second periodic report of the Czech Republic, questioning a national delegation on how the country was giving effect to the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Introducing the report, Jan Jarab, Government Commissioner for Human Rights of the Czech Republic, said the country had aimed at progressive improvement in human rights since it had come into being as an independent State in January 1993. In 1998, he added, the Government had established a national Human Rights Council.
Responding to questions put by Committee members, the Government delegation said among other things that current legal provisions did not give adequate protection against discrimination, and the Government was contemplating submitting a draft law to Parliament to give better protection to individuals, including children, against any form of discrimination; that the Government was considering steps to reduce the rate of road accidents, particularly those affecting children; and that the Government was providing every opportunity to Roma children to voluntarily integrate themselves into Czech society, including through preparatory classes in elementary schools.
The Committee will issue its formal conclusions and recommendations on the report of the Czech Republic before the end of its three-week session on 31 January.
Other members of the Czech delegation were Alexander Slaby, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Radim Bures, of the Ministry of the Interior; Jiri Kapr and Jiri Pilar, of the Ministry of Education; Vera Novotna, of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs; Vit Schorm, of the Ministry of Justice; Petra Skopova, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Alena Steflova, of the Ministry of Health; Martina Stepankova, of the Council of the Government for Human Rights; and Ivana Schellongova, Second Secretary of Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic in Geneva.
The Czech Republic, as one of 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, must present periodic reports to the Committee on the status and well being of the country's children.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. Monday, 27 January, it will take up an initial report of Haiti (document CRC/C/51/Add.7).

Second Periodic Report of Czech Republic
The report (document CRC/C/83/Add.4), describes activities to implement the provisions of the Convention since the State party's initial report was considered in September 1997. It also enumerates developments in recent related to children and to the promotion and protection of child rights.
The report reviews legal provisions put in place and gives detailed information on the State party's cooperation with non-governmental organizations working in the areas of child protection and the promotion of rights. Measures taken by the Government to promote the best interests of the child, non-discrimination, the right to life, survival and development, and respect for the views of the child are also described in the report.

Introduction
JAN JARAB, Government Commissioner for Human Rights of the Czech Republic, said the country had been engaged in an ongoing process which aimed at enhancement of the protection of human rights ever since it had come into being as an independent State in January 1993. Children constituted a major category of vulnerable individuals requiring special protection. Various categories of children were doubly vulnerable or disadvantaged by reason of being in institutional care, suffering from mental or physical disorders, or having other difficulties.
Since 1998, the Government had taken significant measures in the area of human rights protection and promotion through the creation of a Human Rights Council, Mr. Jarab said. The Council, in turn, had set up a Committee on the Rights of the Child as one of its working committees. Members of principal non-governmental organizations were represented on the committee, together with Government deputy ministers. The establishment in 2000 of a Office of Public Defender of Rights --- or Ombudsman -- had contributed to the enforcement of human rights protection, including in the sphere of the rights of the child.
Mr. Jarab said a process of change in domestic legislation was currently under way in the Republic, reflecting the obligations stemming from international treaties in the area of human rights, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Several substantial amendments had been carried out to the Czech Family Act, the Act on Social and Legal Protection of Children, and the Institutional, Protective and Preventive Act.
Recent developments included ratification of the 1993 Hague Convention on inter-country adoption and of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. The ratification process concerning the Convention's Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Pornography was under way. Besides institutional and legislative developments, policies and practical approaches were also gradually changing in many areas.

Discussion
Committee Experts raised numerous questions under the main subjects of general measures of the implementation of the provisions of the Convention, and the legal definition of the child. The questions focused among other things on the coordination of the activities addressing children; violence against children in the family and in school; implementation of the law on the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee; child labour; dissemination of information and training on the provisions of the Convention; data collection on children; the existence of a national action plan on children; the responsibilities of municipalities towards children's rights; and results of judicial debates concerning the best interests of children.
Responding to the questions, members of the Czech Republic said among other things that the Government was in the process of creating a decentralized structure of services with regard to child rights. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, which was created by the Human Rights Council, was acting as coordinator for child rights activities. However, there was no central authority responsible for overall coordination of policies concerning protection of the rights of the child and authorized to access all relevant statistical data and other information.
The Ombudsman had the mandate to evaluate complaints received while the Human Rights Council was related to the executive branch of Government in terms of contributing to the realization of legislative proposals and other actions, the delegation said. The Ombudsman was an independent office whose head was elected by Parliament. The Council was composed of representatives of civil society, deputy Government ministers, and representatives of non-governmental organizations.
The country's Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms was part of the Constitutional order of the Republic, the delegation said. The Charter had the force of a Constitutional statute, and other laws were required to be in accordance with it. The content of certain articles of the Convention corresponded to provisions of the Charter. However, in the event a clash occurred between the Constitution and the Convention, the Convention would take precedence.
Children aged between 12 and 15 were not liable for crimes they committed, the delegation said. Although there had been a debate to reduce the age limit for criminal responsibility, the Government had maintained the existing law. Under section 11 of the Criminal Code, a person who had not reached the age of 15 at the time of committing a crime was not criminally accountable.
The Government would maintain its reservation on article 7 of the Convention, the delegation said. The Government believed that in cases of irrevocable adoptions, which were based on the principle of anonymity of such adoptions, the non-communication of natural parents' names to the child was not in contradiction with the provision. The adopting parents replaced the biological parents of the child, and the child had no right to know his or her natural parents.
Committee Experts went on pose questions on the main issues of the general principles of the Convention; civil rights and freedoms; and family environment and alternative care. Questions were raised, among other things, about the number of social-service workers; preparatory classes for Roma children; the situation of disabled children; the status of stateless children in institutions; the role of the Parliamentary commission on the family; the number of child-care institutions; the status of the extended family; discrimination against Roma and foreign children; the lack of legal provisions against the corporal punishment; the rate of road accidents; and the length of the legal divorce process.
Responding, the Czech delegation said among other things that current legal provisions did not give adequate protection against discrimination, and the Government was contemplating submitting a draft law to Parliament to give better protection to individuals against any form of discrimination. Nor was there a mechanism for monitoring discrimination in the country.
The Government was seriously considering additional measures against road accidents, particularly those in which children were affected, the delegation said. A legal measure would be added to correct drivers' behaviour, in addition to a series of steps for protection of children from road accidents. Speed limits would also be regulated to prevent accidents.
Rehabilitation programmes for victims of violence were carried out by State institutions and NGOs, the delegation said. Counselling centres had also been set up to assist victims of violence. The police were trained in handling victims and in dealing with perpetrators of crimes against children.
There was no special provision on the prohibition of corporal punishment, the delegation said. Only cases of physical injury to persons were considered as crimes, and they were punishable.
After the breakup of Czechoslovakia, there had been some individuals who did not opt for the citizenship of either of the States, the delegation said. At present, there were 10,000 individuals in the country who had not decide on either Czech or Slovak citizenship. Thus they lived without any status. Refugees crossing Czech territory without documentation were considered to be stateless in accordance with the State's legal definition.
The question of the Roma community in the Czech Republic was an issue of integration and not assimilation, as had been attempted in the past, the delegation. The Government was providing every opportunity to Roma children to voluntarily integrate themselves into Czech society through the acceptance of its rules and regulations. The process of integration had been made easier for those willing to benefit from the new system. Roma children were involving themselves more and more in the country's educational system. Preparatory classes in elementary schools for Roma and socially disadvantaged children had been most successful. A high percentage of preparatory class graduates were successful at the beginning of their attendance in elementary school.
Committee Experts posed further questions on the main subjects of basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural activities; and special protection measures, focusing among other things on breastfeeding and the absence of a legal provision on commercial standards for substitute milk products; commercial sexual exploitation of children; trafficking of Czech children to other European countries; the situation of German sex tourism to the Czech Republic; non-completion of compulsory education and an absence of data on school dropouts; detention of minors in adult prisons; the implementation of a programme against bullying in schools; and measures against teachers who perpetrated violence against students.
Responding, the delegation said among other things that children might be found in detention centres whose parents were awaiting expulsion to their countries of origin. Many of those individuals were asylum-seekers whose cases had been rejected and who were being subjected to expulsion by court decisions. Unaccompanied children were not expelled, and they received special treatment from the Government.
Juveniles under the age of 18 were kept in a separate prison department with a special regime and equipment, the delegation said. The staff included a tutor, special educator and a social welfare worker. Juveniles remanded in custody were kept in remand prisons and special prison departments for detainees awaiting trial. There were 13 remand prisons and 6 prisons with special custody departments; and there were no established rules on the capacity of juvenile detention facilities. A draft bill on the criminal liability of children and on the judicial system in matters of juvenile delinquency was currently being formulated.
There was no significant figure on trafficking of children, the delegation said. There had been only 15 and 4 cases registered in 2001 and 2002, respectively. The Government had established a common monitoring mechanism with the Government of Germany on the issue. The principle of extraterritoriality of crime had been implemented against Czech citizens who committed crimes abroad.

Preliminary Concluding Remarks
ELIZABETH TIGERSTEDT-TAHTELA, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur for the report of the Czech Republic, said the dialogue with the Government delegation had broadened the Committee's view of the implementation of the provisions of the Convention in the country. Children should be protected in many situations, and should be considered as individuals with dignity and having their own opinions. They should also participate in matters concerning their development.



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